When I was still on FacePlant, I was “friends” with several people I grew up with. I was gobsmacked by how many started posting their god stuff. Unfriended all of them.
"Jesus stuff" It was amazing to witness all the Jesus and God stuff throughout the 2025 last presidential. Politicians in the USA understand the difficulty of getting elected without making claims of some invisible being.
How many believed or understood their beliefs is questionable? It doesn't matter the USA's twisted theocracy, most citizens are all in.
And on the point of Christians involving their religious beliefs with businesses, ALL should be cautious about their latest scam. Christian businesses that sell the sharing of medical costs. They charge you a monthly “premium” on the promise of paying your medical bills later. People make the mistake of believing this is an inexpensive way to INSURE themselves for medical issues. Problem is these businesses aren’t regulated and are under no obligation to pay the medical bills submitted to them. Yes they’ll TAKE your monthly money but they don’t pay your bills and you’ll have no legal way to make them. FAITH-Based healthcare sharing programs are NOT insurance. And like typical Christians of today, they don’t care about you, your health or anything they may have “SOLD” you. Steer clear of faith-based medical cost sharing programs.
Your omniscient, omnipotent Lord can't even compel children to believe he exists. Yet he needs deluded state legislators to force voters to make this happen? Sounds to me like a weak, lazy, ignorant, pathetic, and dare I say, NON-EXISTENT god.
Oh, really? What happened to: Believe or burn in hell? That's some choice, especially considering that not one of the elements involved – Yahweh, Jesus, heaven or hell – can be demonstrated decisively to exist. And let's keep in mind too: it was Jesus who came up with the concept of eternal punishment.
So what, IMO its better for one to freely think for oneself. Free of all the superstitions and controlling fear brought on by beliefs without evidence.
Nothing happened. It's your choice but there are consequences. Not all Christians believe that Hell is eternal for those who reject God. But, I admit that we are in the majority. When Jesus talks about how one's soul and body are destroyed, I take that literally meaning that Hell is the end of existence for those who did not believe in God.
It's not a fully informed choice. And that makes it immoral for him to punish people who choose incorrectly if the reason is limited, imperfect information. The fact that his punishment for what is essentially a belief error is so severe and forever skyrockets this into "egregiously immoral." And finally, the fact that He could punish *nobody at all* if He chose to skyrockets this even further into "unnecessarily cruel as well as egregiously immoral."
How moral would it be for me to give you a huge number of doors (i.e. gods or theologies), with each door having a sign on it saying "this is the correct door. Pick me." Then I tell you that I'll execute you for picking the wrong door. When you ask me how I could possibly consider that fair or reasonable, I tell you "well the correct door has a sign on it saying it's the correct door. That's all the information you should need. So it's not my fault if you choose the wrong door and get executed." When you ask me why I would execute anyone for this choice at all, I tell you "well picking the wrong door is to not love me. And that's just the worst thing you could ever do. Worse than rape or murder, even" - would you think I was being reasonable? Or a monster playing some horrific torture game?
I understand your point but as a believer I trust that God will do what is right. I believe that God will hold people responsible for what they did know. And, if I am not mistaken, you consider God as described in the Bible to be a moral monster. Even if you believed in his existence, you would still reject him even if it meant punishment in the hereafter. I can admire that position even if I don't agree with you.
I have known people who say that even if it means they go to Hell that they will never submit to God whom they consider to be a moral monster. I may disagree with them but still admire their character.
Sounds like the lame, irrelevant excuse Trump gave last night when asked why he previously condemned people who assault police officers, then gave them all full pardons because...other people don't even get arrested.
Every day it gets easier and easier to see why so much of Trump's "base" are Christian believers. They not only fall for the biggest scams, they go 'all in.'
My father warned me of this, when I was a teenager. "The louder they scream it, especially in a business transaction where it has no place, the more they aren't.
I have felt this way for many years. If you let me know what your religion is—and this doesn’t just apply to Xtians— you have already lost my business.
I do mind them letting me know. I don’t need to know who they’re sleeping with. I don’t need to know who they worship and idolize either. Pretty sure if they’re trying to divert my attention with their god, their business has unethical intentions.
That is wise, their religion has no bearing on their business acumen, the fact that they advertise that, means they are trying to screw gullible people over.
Conservative Christians never stop trying to force their way into the public schools and the public square. This compulsion stems from the ultimate weakness of their message. There are churches galore in this country, as well as many religious broadcasters and christian bookstores. The religious right has all ability to get their message out they could possibly need, but they keep trying to get to children who have not reached the age of reason. In the public schools where they a captive audience.
Biggest mistake this country ever made in an attempt to give everyone religious freedom was allowing the abuse of all to grant that freedom.And those that enjoy that freedom, never tire of trying to have the rest of us constantly pay for their freedom. The granting of tax free status totally abuses the system and keeps the abusers coming back for more to protect their assumed turf is what we all believe in. We don’t. It is no great surprise the very people the Lord threw from his building for greed use the Lord to accelerate their greed and corruption.
Where does Collins want the Bishop deported to? She was born in New Jersey. Of course his real message behind the rhetoric is that he thinks everyone who does not bow to Trump is anti American.
Yesterday I went awandering and read some comments and restacks by people ( you know, the ones, you/me/we don’t want to boost) and there I found a couple who were speculating that someone would ‘get’ one of the Jan6 policemen. They used his name.
I live in rural Kansas, deep deep red area. There are a few MAGA around here, but MAGA or not, they all voted for Trump.
They talk a LOT of bullshit, and Trump pardoning the J6'ers may embolden them, but I wouldn't count on it.
I think if you become a target, you should arm yourselves. A lot of women I know (we started as a Kansas Women for Harris group and now we're just kind of supporting each other) who would have never carried a gun before are considering it. Think of a taser if a gun is too much.
Also, no guns around here. We introduced legislation to prohibit private guns after a madman went to a primary school and killed 16 children and a teacher.
Must be nice. We had someone go into an elementary school and kill 19 4th graders (while the police sat on their thumbs) and still have open-carry and handguns without a license.
Sounds an awful like that Nazi leader of the 1940s we should NOT all get hysterical about with comparisons. IF memory serves he left about 60 million murdered. But let’s not make alarming comparisons. I’m sure Donnie and friends are all fine people!
I guess we all missed the part which specifically limits freedom of speech to ONLY those that agree with RW beliefs. Because the only GREAT views are those that send society backwards and favors the powerful, the wealthy and the Christian. Everyone else is a communist? Gee no surprise the least educated amongst us don’t understand our constitution, insurrection and communism. Wouldn’t even attempt to explain “Woke” to those that are challenged by freedom of speech.
And then there's that "nasty" again. Translation: Trump doesn't find her physically attractive. To him, women are only worth anything if they're "good-looking." Wonder what he would have said if she was a supermodel?
Amazing how Donnie is so concerned about immigrants committing crimes when he just dumped 1500 terrorists back onto our streets. Yup, that’s our law & order leader. Personally, I’m more concerned about my AR-15 armed red hat lunatic neighbor than any immigrant!
Christians have been trying to get their grubby mitts on taxpayer money since I was a kid in catholic parochial school. If their message isn't selling as well as it once did, whose fault is that? There are plenty of mega-church owning, prosperity gospel preaching grifters in OK who could fund PRIVATE religious schools if they actually believed the crap they preach. I'm glad to see public officials like Mickey Dollens calling them out for disregarding their state's constitution and the will of the voters to do in secret what the law doesn't allow them to do in the open.
Direct or indirect funding of any religious sect = state-established religion and violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.
It's interesting to note that in the 18th century established religions were losing ground and church attendance was falling when people like Patrick Henry tried to intervene and proposed using state money in VA to pay the salaries of ministers. He was, of course, opposed by people like James Madison who were the early proponents of disestablishment. But like gum on the bottom of your shoe on a hot summer day, the money-grubbing christians don't come unstuck that easily.
...retroactively, double for the megachurches. Small neighborhood churches could get a pass, if they actually feed the poor, and help the needy, without strings.
This is a quote which people like Prieto have yet to understand. I don't know what motivates Prieto to go for state funds, whether it's greed or entitlement or what, but the blunt fact is that he has no right to public monies, and at some level or other, he knows that. This is why he wants to remove the "indirect" sanction from the law, which would allow him to weasel his way around state prohibitions against funding religion and plow state bread into his proselytizing efforts.
The people already said NO once. They may need to do it again, just to shut this guy up.
And I think they will. I follow political news in Oklahoma and have friends that live there (I spent quite a bit of time working in Oklahoma as well) and it sounds as if the masses are getting very tired of Ryan Walters and his attempts to shove religion down everyone's throats. And this includes the legislators who have to hear from their constituents, and are also tired of Walters.
This is the problem with Republican supermajorities, they don't have to listen to constituents when their seats are completely safe from primary challenges or GE opponents.
These Christian scammers are counting on people being worn down by the constant request for cash. Rephrased and placed on every ballot in every election. THIS is easy when ALEC writes the legislation and then it gets passed from state to state.
IF the public is concerned with the condition of public education, the constant onslaught by the religious right would be a main reason your children are getting a worse education than you did. Public Schools funds are being deferred to religious & charter schools. Classroom time is wasted over nonsense like bibles and 10C in every classroom. And a lot of legislature time & money is wasted on this type of nonsense in almost every state, specifically if they are a gerrymandered red state. Real issues don’t get addressed because religious zealots keep introducing their garbage.
This. This is why year after year, they take so many actions that piss on the Constitution. This is why they push to get Barton's pseudohistory front and center in the public's mind. This shows their ultimate goal: absolute control for them, and elimination of the people their twisted interpretation of an ancient book tell them to hate. They don't care how much suffering they cause. Some even revel in that. All they care about is how much money and power they can get, so they can exercise absolute control. I suspect that many of them don't really worship Trump, the way the way they got the rubes to. They just really want the right of kings, and he seems like a good figurehead king to them.
I keep posting the following because the numbers remain unchanged:
Oklahoma is is ranked 43rd out of 50 states as "Best State to Live In." Pathetic. Even worse? They are ranked next-to-last in both Education and Health Care. Watching the legislative antics of guys like Prieto, is it any wonder?
I haven't looked at the demographics, but I wouldn't guarantee that white people *aren't* a minority in Oklahoma, There are a lot of half-blood and quarter-blood Native Americans in the state.
I wouldn’t count on the voters to do the right thing here. They might, but it might be enough wiggle room to convince some to change sides. And who knows, some voters might change their mind this time around. My town had a prominent business that was rabidly anti-Trump since before the 2016 election all the way up until this summer when they hosted the orange devil at their business in town. What changed? Who knows, they’ll find out what he will do to - er for- them soon enough.
Even if Democrats are outnumbered, still fight the legislation every step of the way, then campaign hard on defeating it if/when it comes to a vote. Market the downside of the bill starting immediately, point out how it will absolutely hurt individuals and communities. Mention the unconstitutionality of it, but focus on the harm. We need to reach out to the folks who want this and remind them that it can backfire on them. They likely won’t be the group that gets this funding, and the group they hate most could get it and grow so much that there’s no getting away from them.
These fuckers are exhausting. And with so much else we have to contend with at the moment, they’re going to win some battles. We can’t give up the war though.
Way too many US citizens know nothing about their own constitution and their own government. This might explain why so many don’t care about protecting it. They also don’t understand that they ARE responsible for the government that doesn’t work for them. What did they think was going to happen by electing people like MTGreene, Tommy Tuberville, Lauren Boebert and Donnie Trump? Did they actually think government would become more responsive to their needs by electing do nothing uneducated whiners?
Christians are the problem, I boycott all Christian businesses for this reason.
In my experience, businesses that tout their Christianity can never be trusted.
They're about as reliable, trustworthy and honest as people who post Jesus stuff in their social media bios.
When I was still on FacePlant, I was “friends” with several people I grew up with. I was gobsmacked by how many started posting their god stuff. Unfriended all of them.
I've never understood why all these people who claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus can't leave it that way.
I could respect that. I can't respect vomiting mistranslated quotes that they don't even get what the meaning is.
👏🏼👏🏼
🤮It tells me they don't live in the real world. And so have nothing to contribute to any conversation.
Yup.
"Jesus stuff" It was amazing to witness all the Jesus and God stuff throughout the 2025 last presidential. Politicians in the USA understand the difficulty of getting elected without making claims of some invisible being.
How many believed or understood their beliefs is questionable? It doesn't matter the USA's twisted theocracy, most citizens are all in.
In MAGA We Trust?
Yup. Non-believers are the only group that both parties have no problem ignoring, if not outright discriminating against.
And on the point of Christians involving their religious beliefs with businesses, ALL should be cautious about their latest scam. Christian businesses that sell the sharing of medical costs. They charge you a monthly “premium” on the promise of paying your medical bills later. People make the mistake of believing this is an inexpensive way to INSURE themselves for medical issues. Problem is these businesses aren’t regulated and are under no obligation to pay the medical bills submitted to them. Yes they’ll TAKE your monthly money but they don’t pay your bills and you’ll have no legal way to make them. FAITH-Based healthcare sharing programs are NOT insurance. And like typical Christians of today, they don’t care about you, your health or anything they may have “SOLD” you. Steer clear of faith-based medical cost sharing programs.
Religion has often been used as a cloak for evil. Even though I am a believer, I am leery of businesses which proclaim their faith to the heavens.
Your omniscient, omnipotent Lord can't even compel children to believe he exists. Yet he needs deluded state legislators to force voters to make this happen? Sounds to me like a weak, lazy, ignorant, pathetic, and dare I say, NON-EXISTENT god.
Unlike some of his followers, God doesn't compel people to believe in him. It's your choice.
Oh, really? What happened to: Believe or burn in hell? That's some choice, especially considering that not one of the elements involved – Yahweh, Jesus, heaven or hell – can be demonstrated decisively to exist. And let's keep in mind too: it was Jesus who came up with the concept of eternal punishment.
Swell fella.
The story of Job is wild and Job was a believer
So what, IMO its better for one to freely think for oneself. Free of all the superstitions and controlling fear brought on by beliefs without evidence.
God Bless the MAGA cult?
Nothing happened. It's your choice but there are consequences. Not all Christians believe that Hell is eternal for those who reject God. But, I admit that we are in the majority. When Jesus talks about how one's soul and body are destroyed, I take that literally meaning that Hell is the end of existence for those who did not believe in God.
It's not a fully informed choice. And that makes it immoral for him to punish people who choose incorrectly if the reason is limited, imperfect information. The fact that his punishment for what is essentially a belief error is so severe and forever skyrockets this into "egregiously immoral." And finally, the fact that He could punish *nobody at all* if He chose to skyrockets this even further into "unnecessarily cruel as well as egregiously immoral."
How moral would it be for me to give you a huge number of doors (i.e. gods or theologies), with each door having a sign on it saying "this is the correct door. Pick me." Then I tell you that I'll execute you for picking the wrong door. When you ask me how I could possibly consider that fair or reasonable, I tell you "well the correct door has a sign on it saying it's the correct door. That's all the information you should need. So it's not my fault if you choose the wrong door and get executed." When you ask me why I would execute anyone for this choice at all, I tell you "well picking the wrong door is to not love me. And that's just the worst thing you could ever do. Worse than rape or murder, even" - would you think I was being reasonable? Or a monster playing some horrific torture game?
I understand your point but as a believer I trust that God will do what is right. I believe that God will hold people responsible for what they did know. And, if I am not mistaken, you consider God as described in the Bible to be a moral monster. Even if you believed in his existence, you would still reject him even if it meant punishment in the hereafter. I can admire that position even if I don't agree with you.
But the other 'choice' is spend eternity in hellfire. How is that not compulsion?
I have known people who say that even if it means they go to Hell that they will never submit to God whom they consider to be a moral monster. I may disagree with them but still admire their character.
Can you say 'cognitive dissonance?'
Nothing personal.
Yes. In fact, I studied it while I was in graduate school.
Sounds like the lame, irrelevant excuse Trump gave last night when asked why he previously condemned people who assault police officers, then gave them all full pardons because...other people don't even get arrested.
Every day it gets easier and easier to see why so much of Trump's "base" are Christian believers. They not only fall for the biggest scams, they go 'all in.'
Yup just like a con man or a magician, keep your eyes on this, not what I’m actually doing
Never trust a xtian. Him and his god have figured out how to cheat you.
HELL is overflowing with fake Christians like Donnie and his cult.
Just like our jails and prisons.
My father warned me of this, when I was a teenager. "The louder they scream it, especially in a business transaction where it has no place, the more they aren't.
I have felt this way for many years. If you let me know what your religion is—and this doesn’t just apply to Xtians— you have already lost my business.
I don’t mind them letting me know.
I do mind them making sure I acknowledge it.
I do mind them letting me know. I don’t need to know who they’re sleeping with. I don’t need to know who they worship and idolize either. Pretty sure if they’re trying to divert my attention with their god, their business has unethical intentions.
That is wise, their religion has no bearing on their business acumen, the fact that they advertise that, means they are trying to screw gullible people over.
Conservative Christians never stop trying to force their way into the public schools and the public square. This compulsion stems from the ultimate weakness of their message. There are churches galore in this country, as well as many religious broadcasters and christian bookstores. The religious right has all ability to get their message out they could possibly need, but they keep trying to get to children who have not reached the age of reason. In the public schools where they a captive audience.
Also because they know that their numbers are falling. They are afraid of losing power and influence.
Biggest mistake this country ever made in an attempt to give everyone religious freedom was allowing the abuse of all to grant that freedom.And those that enjoy that freedom, never tire of trying to have the rest of us constantly pay for their freedom. The granting of tax free status totally abuses the system and keeps the abusers coming back for more to protect their assumed turf is what we all believe in. We don’t. It is no great surprise the very people the Lord threw from his building for greed use the Lord to accelerate their greed and corruption.
Fuck the GOP. Fuck the Republicans. Fuck the Reichwing.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/867874b7dbfcd6daffb11c9fbcc1503664fc3a2dad3bff5d66194afd31ff03cd.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/612d4f89558220b42ffe2d26e2f18984ab2f050f3f00d1a618e02885aaefa21c.jpg
Where does Collins want the Bishop deported to? She was born in New Jersey. Of course his real message behind the rhetoric is that he thinks everyone who does not bow to Trump is anti American.
As vile as the calls for deportation are, they’re better than the next step (and it’s a short one), murder.
If you won’t kiss the ring, you will die.
Yesterday I went awandering and read some comments and restacks by people ( you know, the ones, you/me/we don’t want to boost) and there I found a couple who were speculating that someone would ‘get’ one of the Jan6 policemen. They used his name.
It frightened me to read these comments.
I live in rural Kansas, deep deep red area. There are a few MAGA around here, but MAGA or not, they all voted for Trump.
They talk a LOT of bullshit, and Trump pardoning the J6'ers may embolden them, but I wouldn't count on it.
I think if you become a target, you should arm yourselves. A lot of women I know (we started as a Kansas Women for Harris group and now we're just kind of supporting each other) who would have never carried a gun before are considering it. Think of a taser if a gun is too much.
I get the sentiment but I’ll be fine.
Also, no guns around here. We introduced legislation to prohibit private guns after a madman went to a primary school and killed 16 children and a teacher.
Must be nice. We had someone go into an elementary school and kill 19 4th graders (while the police sat on their thumbs) and still have open-carry and handguns without a license.
😬😱That's nasty. May it rebound on him, (it's generally a him)
It was not just one account, which wrote stuff like that.
As I said, it frightened me.
Yes, there are some very mentally ill sadists among us.
I’m betting on someone “getting” our POS leader.
Speaking of, anyone else hoping Jack Smith and his family made it out of country?
Sounds an awful like that Nazi leader of the 1940s we should NOT all get hysterical about with comparisons. IF memory serves he left about 60 million murdered. But let’s not make alarming comparisons. I’m sure Donnie and friends are all fine people!
We will now use the power of the Continuum Transfunctioner to banish you to Hoboken, New Jersey!
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fpIE5MeqLog/hqdefault.jpg
I have just posted the same comment on a different thread elsewhere.
Don’t you think that it’s nice to see, that the congressman is familiar with the constitution? Especially the bit about freedom of speech?
(There might be a bit of sarcasm there)
I guess we all missed the part which specifically limits freedom of speech to ONLY those that agree with RW beliefs. Because the only GREAT views are those that send society backwards and favors the powerful, the wealthy and the Christian. Everyone else is a communist? Gee no surprise the least educated amongst us don’t understand our constitution, insurrection and communism. Wouldn’t even attempt to explain “Woke” to those that are challenged by freedom of speech.
New Caledonia?
And Trump lies and he lies and he lies.
And then there's that "nasty" again. Translation: Trump doesn't find her physically attractive. To him, women are only worth anything if they're "good-looking." Wonder what he would have said if she was a supermodel?
There's a chunk of me that thinks he's scared of her, of her willingness to speak out, to confront him, plainly and bluntly and without fear.
Took some serious 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑜𝑠 for her to do that, and I salute her for it.
I’m seeing an absolute LACK of the usual sycophants/myrmidons defending him and accusing “the left” of being “divisive”.
Like maybe about 1% of the usual numbers.
The Stupidity and the Madness ... they piss me the fuck off!
And they are endemic.
As has been said so often, "Every accusation is an admission of guilt."
Cheez, that reactions are scary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saCNObW9Uao
Amazing how Donnie is so concerned about immigrants committing crimes when he just dumped 1500 terrorists back onto our streets. Yup, that’s our law & order leader. Personally, I’m more concerned about my AR-15 armed red hat lunatic neighbor than any immigrant!
Those are “his people” after all.
Christians have been trying to get their grubby mitts on taxpayer money since I was a kid in catholic parochial school. If their message isn't selling as well as it once did, whose fault is that? There are plenty of mega-church owning, prosperity gospel preaching grifters in OK who could fund PRIVATE religious schools if they actually believed the crap they preach. I'm glad to see public officials like Mickey Dollens calling them out for disregarding their state's constitution and the will of the voters to do in secret what the law doesn't allow them to do in the open.
Direct or indirect funding of any religious sect = state-established religion and violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.
Christians have been trying to get their mitts on taxpayer money since the 18th century when their mitts were forced off of it.
It's interesting to note that in the 18th century established religions were losing ground and church attendance was falling when people like Patrick Henry tried to intervene and proposed using state money in VA to pay the salaries of ministers. He was, of course, opposed by people like James Madison who were the early proponents of disestablishment. But like gum on the bottom of your shoe on a hot summer day, the money-grubbing christians don't come unstuck that easily.
👆👆👆🎯
Gee, this seems deceitful. Doesn't their bible's god despise deceit? Doesn't NT scripture tell its believers to obey all laws and authorities?
Amazing how Christians have to resort to being sneaky when atheists have no such need for subterfuge. Yet Christians call US the "immoral" ones.
Doesn't count if it's lying for Jesus. Says so in Mendacities 3:27.
#TaxAllChurches
Frank Zappa was shouting "Tax the churches" many times.
Gotta keep screaming until a chorus forms. 😎
...retroactively, double for the megachurches. Small neighborhood churches could get a pass, if they actually feed the poor, and help the needy, without strings.
𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑, 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑖𝑡𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓; 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑖𝑡𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑖𝑡, 𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟, '𝑡𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛, 𝐼 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑒ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑑, 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑛𝑒.
-- Benjamin Franklin
This is a quote which people like Prieto have yet to understand. I don't know what motivates Prieto to go for state funds, whether it's greed or entitlement or what, but the blunt fact is that he has no right to public monies, and at some level or other, he knows that. This is why he wants to remove the "indirect" sanction from the law, which would allow him to weasel his way around state prohibitions against funding religion and plow state bread into his proselytizing efforts.
The people already said NO once. They may need to do it again, just to shut this guy up.
Weaseling their way in when direct action doesn't work seems to be standard procedure for the NSGOP.
Indeed. They act as though they think no one is looking or that they won't get caught.
They're wrong ... badly so.
When the police have all power, they will never make a mistake. When courts have all power, nobody will have a chance.
I like it better when there are consequences.
And I think they will. I follow political news in Oklahoma and have friends that live there (I spent quite a bit of time working in Oklahoma as well) and it sounds as if the masses are getting very tired of Ryan Walters and his attempts to shove religion down everyone's throats. And this includes the legislators who have to hear from their constituents, and are also tired of Walters.
This is the problem with Republican supermajorities, they don't have to listen to constituents when their seats are completely safe from primary challenges or GE opponents.
That would be great news if it pans out that way.
These Christian scammers are counting on people being worn down by the constant request for cash. Rephrased and placed on every ballot in every election. THIS is easy when ALEC writes the legislation and then it gets passed from state to state.
IF the public is concerned with the condition of public education, the constant onslaught by the religious right would be a main reason your children are getting a worse education than you did. Public Schools funds are being deferred to religious & charter schools. Classroom time is wasted over nonsense like bibles and 10C in every classroom. And a lot of legislature time & money is wasted on this type of nonsense in almost every state, specifically if they are a gerrymandered red state. Real issues don’t get addressed because religious zealots keep introducing their garbage.
Looking at the photograph, i think I might have wandered into the real world version of The Sixth Sense.
I elect dead people.
He's an evil-looking fucker isn't he?
The American Taliban never stops.
A fascist is at your throat or at your feet. There is no in between.
We are now living Popper's "Paradox of Tolerance."
Yes, we certainly are, it only took eighty years to get back here.
𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏’𝒕 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕.
This. This is why year after year, they take so many actions that piss on the Constitution. This is why they push to get Barton's pseudohistory front and center in the public's mind. This shows their ultimate goal: absolute control for them, and elimination of the people their twisted interpretation of an ancient book tell them to hate. They don't care how much suffering they cause. Some even revel in that. All they care about is how much money and power they can get, so they can exercise absolute control. I suspect that many of them don't really worship Trump, the way the way they got the rubes to. They just really want the right of kings, and he seems like a good figurehead king to them.
Their gods are dictators. They want to be dictators also.
I keep posting the following because the numbers remain unchanged:
Oklahoma is is ranked 43rd out of 50 states as "Best State to Live In." Pathetic. Even worse? They are ranked next-to-last in both Education and Health Care. Watching the legislative antics of guys like Prieto, is it any wonder?
"That's just because we have to count all the minorities, if we just counted the white people we'd be doing a lot better." -Oklahoma
They really shouldn't bet on that...
I haven't looked at the demographics, but I wouldn't guarantee that white people *aren't* a minority in Oklahoma, There are a lot of half-blood and quarter-blood Native Americans in the state.
White: 74.0%
Native American: 9.4%
Black or African American: 7.8%
Two or more races: 6.3%
Asian: 2.4% (0.4% Vietnamese, 0.3% Indian, 0.2% Chinese, 0.2% Korean, 0.2% Filipino, 0.1% Hmong, 0.1% Japanese)
Pacific Islander: 0.2%
They can count?
Mickey Dollenz.
I’mmsorry. But I can’t resist. Forgive!
When did they elect Monkees to the Oklahoma lege?
Micky Dolenz is a Monkey. Mickey Dollenz didn't evolve from no monkey.
Actually, Micky Dolenz is a Monkee. There IS a difference!
Hard to believe he's the sole surviving member. And HE'S almost 80.
The elephant helped.
"Circus Boy" reference? 😉
My first thought too! Since my older brother was named for him.
I wouldn’t count on the voters to do the right thing here. They might, but it might be enough wiggle room to convince some to change sides. And who knows, some voters might change their mind this time around. My town had a prominent business that was rabidly anti-Trump since before the 2016 election all the way up until this summer when they hosted the orange devil at their business in town. What changed? Who knows, they’ll find out what he will do to - er for- them soon enough.
Even if Democrats are outnumbered, still fight the legislation every step of the way, then campaign hard on defeating it if/when it comes to a vote. Market the downside of the bill starting immediately, point out how it will absolutely hurt individuals and communities. Mention the unconstitutionality of it, but focus on the harm. We need to reach out to the folks who want this and remind them that it can backfire on them. They likely won’t be the group that gets this funding, and the group they hate most could get it and grow so much that there’s no getting away from them.
These fuckers are exhausting. And with so much else we have to contend with at the moment, they’re going to win some battles. We can’t give up the war though.
Yes as the saying goes – they only have to succeed once, we have to succeed over and over again.
Way too many US citizens know nothing about their own constitution and their own government. This might explain why so many don’t care about protecting it. They also don’t understand that they ARE responsible for the government that doesn’t work for them. What did they think was going to happen by electing people like MTGreene, Tommy Tuberville, Lauren Boebert and Donnie Trump? Did they actually think government would become more responsive to their needs by electing do nothing uneducated whiners?
Dominionist WAC-A-Mole. It’s exhausting because it never ends.
OT: Our government has officially gone full TERF
https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/01/22/our-government-has-officially-gone-full-terf/
They're just getting started. This is only day 3.
Ok, the government says I'm a girl, okay but my wife will be upset.
Technically…
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d6a1098014c97b8012b4aab94edb03a65a6f9c590475443a1629f91bc18c8278.jpg
But apparently Republicans never develop past this stage.
Oh fucking hell, as if our Trans-sisters, and brothers, didn't have enough to worry about.
Grifters gotta grift.